I would like to know if a new firmware to allow skipping ads indefinitely will be released. Hopefully it will also allow us to chose between free to air epg and IceTV epg.Dave informed me that a firmware to allow free to air epg would be released but that was before the reinvention of IceTV. Hope it will still happen.Does anyone have any info on this?

From what I understand, further Firmware development is unlikely.There are a number of obstacles.1. Old IceTV hold the Intellectual Property rights. New IceTV may be able to buy them back down the track, but that doesn't solve the problem.2. New IceTV are running very lean at the moment. There will be little money for someone with the skills to develop the Firmware.3. I believe the Intellectual Property rights for the firmware compiler is held by Altech. There is little hope of them getting back into bed with New IceTV.

Too many obstacles I think. By the time it all gets sorted out, the technology will probably be over taken.

I don't know who screwed who in the icetv/Altech deal but I think it's only fair that the firmware to restore skippa to a free to air EPG PVR should be made available.

Its probably possible, I have seen comments that the Skippa is an Altech 9600 with a couple of minor differences. Perhaps its firmware would work on the Skippa, but you would lose all the great Skippa features, AddSkip, Series recordings, IceTV interactivity, etc.i.e. A garden variety PVR where you have to troll through data every week to sort out your recordings.

Personally, I would find life without the convenience of IceTV hard to contemplate. I hope it survives.

Unfortunately there is basically no chance we will be able to get another firmware for the SKIPPA PVR.

The only company with access to the entire source and the ability to build and sign a firmware are Altech UEC and they are no longer a business in Australia.

Even if the stockpile of SKIPPA's that are now somewhere (not sure where now actually) is re-engineered into a different box they would have a different system ID and model number and any firmware for those machines would not boot on the SKIPPA.

This is much as I understood the position. The best outcome for use would be that the administrator, when selling the assets to IceTV2 reserves the right to authorise Altech to sell the SKIPPA with current firmware on condition that they update the firmware (non-IceTV specific) for a couple of years, and possibly include a free-to-air option. However, I am doubtful that this will happen, since one of the earlier issues was Altech refusing to put in place warranty facility for the SKIPPA when they appointed a local agent.